Article by Chris Pitt
Far and away the highlight of apprentice Alan Cressy’s career was winning the 1972 Chester Cup on the front-running Eric, beating Lester Piggott’s mount in a photo finish.
Alan Peter Cressy was born in 1954 and served his apprenticeship with Ryan Price at Findon. He rode his first winner on Precious Song in the £1,192 Joe Coral (Kent) Cup at Folkestone on June 7, 1971, carrying just 7st and scraping home by a head. He won four more races that year, including the H.S. Lester Memorial Challenge Cup at Salisbury in August on Scott Lancer.
He rode just two winners in 1972 but the first of those was the Ladbrokes-sponsored Chester Cup on the Vernon Cross-trained Eric, a 22/1 shot who led after three furlongs and made all thereafter, hanging on to score by a neck from Lester Piggott on the 4/1 favourite Irvine.
His only other success that season was on John Winter’s Russian Dandy in the £1,859 Empire Handicap at Newbury in June.
Alan rode five winners in 1973, beginning with Ryan Price’s Vincedor on the Saturday (Heath Day) of Royal Ascot – the ‘Royal’ meeting then only ran from Tuesday to Friday. He won two more races on Eric that year, at Kempton in July and Goodwood in August. He rode just three winners in 1974, all for Ryan Price, two on Findon Lad, the other on Knight Templar in the George Todd Apprentices’ Challenge Trophy Handicap at Goodwood.
He joined Paul Cole’s Lambourn stables in 1975 but had to wait until the closing week of the season before registering his sole success, on Cole’s three-year-old White Wonder – one of the few horses to be officially registered as white rather than grey – in the November Apprentices’ Handicap at Leicester.
Another move, this time to Guy Harwood’s Pulborough yard, proved a good one, as Alan enjoyed his most successful season in 1976, riding eight winners, all for Harwood. He was even leading jockey for half an hour after winning the first race of the season, the Crown Plus Apprentices’ Championship Handicap on Fighting Brave at Doncaster.
Disappointingly, the following year he rode just one winner, Guy Harwood’s gelding Oisin in the Owen Tudor Handicap at Salisbury on July 9, 1977. That was to be the last success of his career in Britain.
Having completed his apprenticeship, Alan rode briefly as a fully-fledged jockey but relinquished his licence in April 1980. He headed for Germany, basing himself at Baden-Baden, where he had some success. He subsequently moved his riding kit to Frankfurt.
Sadly, Alan died on August 13, 1998. He was found dead in his flat overlooking Frankfurt’s racecourse. He was cremated in Germany and his ashes flown back to his relatives in the village of Great Wakering, in Essex.
Alan Cressy rode a total of 25 winners in Britain, these being as follows:
1. Precious Song, Folkestone, June 7, 1971
2. Ickford, Newbury, June 24, 1971
3. Politeness, Windsor, July 31, 1971
4. Scott Lancer, Salisbury, August 11, 1971
5. Rock Eton, Brighton, August 25, 1971
6. Eric, Chester, May 3, 1972
7. Russian Dandy, Newbury, June 14, 1972
8. Vincedor, Ascot, June 23, 1973
9. Eric, Kempton Park, July 26, 1973
10. Master Hine, Windsor, August 20, 1973
11. Eric, Goodwood, August 24, 1973
12. Supergrey, Salisbury, September 13, 1973
13. Findon Lad, Salisbury, June 4, 1974
14. Findon Lad, Windsor, June 17, 1974
15. Knight Templar, Goodwood, September 13, 1974
16. White Wonder, Leicester, November 3, 1975
17. Fighting Brave, Doncaster, March 24, 1976
18. Fighting Brave, Wolverhampton, April 6, 1976
19. Pater Noster, Chepstow, April 27, 1976
20. Oisin, Newmarket, April 29, 1976
21. Comet Kohoutek, Leicester, May 31, 1976
22. Oisin, Salisbury, July 10, 1976
23. Fighting Brave, September 9, 1976
24. Scottish Mandate, October 2, 1976
25. Oisin, Salisbury, July 9, 1977
